I ruined my brisket flat with a bad thermometer yesterday

Been cooking on my offset smoker for about 4 years now and always trusted my probe. Last Saturday I pulled a 14 pound prime brisket off at what I thought was 203 internal. Sliced into the flat and it was tough as leather. Checked my probe in boiling water and it was off by 15 degrees. That cheap digital thermometer had been lying to me for months. Anyone else had a probe go bad without warning?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana_black6d ago

Ngl, that "tough as leather" part hit me right in the gut. I had a similar thing happen with a pork shoulder last summer. My probe said 200, pulled it off, and it was like chewing on a shoe sole. Turns out my cheapo probe was off by about 12 degrees. I tested it in ice water and it read 40 instead of 32. Wasted a whole day and a good piece of meat. Now I check my probes in boiling water before every big cook, learned that lesson the hard way.

charliestone6d ago

I read somewhere that a lot of those budget probes can drift after just a few months of use, especially if you store them in a drawer where they get bumped around. The thermocouple wire inside is pretty delicate. That's why I switched to a Thermapen a few years back after ruining a brisket on my old smoker. It cost more but I can verify it with an ice bath in about two minutes and it's been dead on every time. Worth it to not waste a whole day of cooking.

kelly_craig6d ago

I double check my probes against each other before every cook now. One busted temp reading is all it takes to learn that lesson.